Governor Scott: We are Working With Texas to Learn from Their Ebola Response & Continuing to Coordinate with Florida’s Airports and Ports to Keep State Fully Prepared

Today, Governor Scott issued an update on Ebola preparedness activitiesthroughout the state, following the news that the Miami patient tested for Ebola has tested negative in a preliminary test. Further testing will be completed later this week to rule out any possibility of Ebola.

Governor Rick Scott said, “We are glad to hear that the test for the Miami patient was indeed negative for Ebola and we are hopeful that further CDC and Department of Health analysis will back up this preliminary negative result later this week. While we have no confirmed cases of Ebola in Florida, we are continuing to take every step possible to best protect our citizens and our tourists.

“Today, I spoke to Texas Governor Rick Perry about what their state has learned from responding to the confirmed Ebola patient in Dallas. We will stay in communication with Texas officials as their response and treatment efforts continue to develop. Florida state agencies also held conference calls with our state’s airport and port leaders today to share information on preparedness steps at each of their facilities. Supporting the preparedness efforts of our airports and our ports means we must have a tremendous partnership between the state, federal officials and local leaders on the ground. We will continue to communicate regularly with these leaders in the days ahead as Florida continues to hope for the best even while we prepare for the worst.”

JOINT INFORMATION CENTER AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA):

The Agency identified hospitals that have the proper treatment kits and isolation facilities suitable for the treatment Ebola cases.

The Agency distributed information on the identification, handling, and reporting of a potential Ebola case to staff members at Agency call centers/area offices and in the offices of Agency partners.

Agency staff members have been trained and placed on alert in the event that they should need to support hospitals in coordinating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) relative to pertinent waivers and related federal guidelines during the course of management of a declared emergency and commensurate diversion of facility resources.

Agency staff members have been trained and placed on alert in the event that they are required to provide expedited reviews of any requests from hospitals relative to protocols for identification and management of suspected Ebola viral disease; including those related to the patients, transport, and the physical plant of the facility, as necessary.

Florida Department of Health (DOH):

Additional patient screening and care guidance is being provided to all local Hospitals, Urgent Care Centers, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and all private providers of care to address the full range of issues posed by potential Ebola cases.

Distributed Ebola-related medical guidance to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) throughout the state to protect humanitarian volunteers who may travel to or from regions where the disease is present.